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The Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS II USM is a professional-grade super-telephoto prime lens designed for Canon EF-mount cameras, a worthy successor to the popular original EF 300mm f/2.8L IS, offering faster operation, improved stabilization, and superior optics in a notably lighter package. It’s aimed at sports, wildlife, and photojournalism photographers who need a fast, versatile mid-telephoto prime with high-speed autofocus for demanding professional work.
Optically, the lens offers a 300mm focal length with a maximum aperture of f/2.8, well suited to isolating distant subjects with strong background separation and low-light capability. The 16-element, 12-group optical design incorporates two Fluorite elements (positioned in the second and fourth groups), delivering improved image quality and reduced chromatic aberration, along with Canon’s Sub Wavelength Structure Coating and a newly developed Fluorine coating on the front and rear elements to minimize ghosting, flaring, soiling, and fingerprints. A rounded 9-blade diaphragm contributes to smooth background bokeh.
Autofocus is handled by a ring-type Ultrasonic Motor (USM) using an inner-focusing system with a focusing cam, delivering fast, quiet, and accurate performance along with full-time manual focus override. Canon’s Optical Image Stabilizer provides up to 4 stops of shake correction, with a third IS mode (Mode 3) that activates stabilization only when the shutter button is fully pressed, giving the equivalent effect of a shutter speed four stops faster and enabling easier panning for action photography. A Power Focus mode is also available for smooth, video-friendly focus transitions.
Build quality reflects the lens’s L-series professional positioning, with weather-sealed construction, a detachable, rotatable tripod collar, repositionable AF stop buttons, and a security slot for a wire-type lock. The lens has a closest focusing distance of 2.0m (6.6 ft.), yielding a maximum magnification of 0.18x, extendable to 0.22x or 0.28x with Canon’s EF12 II or EF25 II extension tubes. It uses a 52mm drop-in rear filter system rather than a front filter thread, and measures approximately 128 x 248mm, weighing approximately 2,350-2,400g. The lens is compatible with Canon’s optional EF 1.4x and EF 2x teleconverters for extended reach.
As a full-frame-compatible lens, the EF 300mm f/2.8L IS II USM produces its full telephoto field of view on full-frame Canon bodies and an effective 480mm equivalent field of view on APS-C bodies.
Key Features
– 300mm f/2.8L super-telephoto prime lens for Canon EF mount
– 16 elements in 12 groups, including 2 Fluorite elements
– Sub Wavelength Structure Coating and Fluorine coating (front/rear elements)
– Ring-type USM autofocus with full-time manual focus override
– Inner-focusing system with focusing cam
– Optical Image Stabilizer, up to 4 stops, with 3 IS modes (including shutter-press-only activation)
– Power Focus mode for video
– Rounded 9-blade diaphragm
– Weather-sealed L-series construction
– Detachable, rotatable tripod collar
– Repositionable AF stop buttons
– Security slot for wire-type lock
– Closest focusing distance of 2.0m (6.6 ft.); 0.18x maximum magnification
– 52mm drop-in rear filter system
– Compatible with EF 1.4x and EF 2x teleconverters, and EF12 II/EF25 II extension tubes
– Approximate weight: 2,350-2,400g
– Compatible with full-frame and APS-C Canon EF-mount cameras
